JP6318449B2 - Inspection apparatus and inspection method for scraped amount of fiber pile in manufacture of absorbent body, and manufacturing method of absorbent body using the inspection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inspection device and an inspection method for the amount of scraped fiber in the manufacture of an absorbent body, and an absorbent body manufacturing method using the inspection method.

  The absorbent body incorporated in the absorbent article is produced by depositing and stacking a pulverized fiber material or a mixture of the fiber material and a water-absorbing polymer in a mold (such as an accumulation recess on the outer peripheral surface of the drum). In recent years, there are some which have a characteristic in absorption performance by providing a middle and high part or arranging a groove part by biasing the basis weight of the absorbent body.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes that an absorbent material having a two-layer structure is formed using a forming drum having a porous region for accumulation on the outer peripheral surface. A first layer is formed in the first forming chamber, and a second layer is formed in the second forming chamber. The first forming chamber has a mechanism for removing a part of the first layer, thereby reducing the thickness of the first layer.
Patent Document 2 describes a technique in which a fiber material is deposited so as to overflow in an accumulation recess having two kinds of depths provided on the outer peripheral surface of a rotary drum, and an excess amount is scraped off. The scraped fibers are once separated from the rotating drum via the return conveyance path and returned to the upstream duct again. A fiber quantity measuring device that detects the amount of fiber material flowing in the return conveyance path is used so that the fiber supply unevenness of the duct (increase or decrease in supply exceeding the tolerance) does not occur due to this return. Moreover, there is a detection technique using various sensors as means for inspecting abnormalities of a conveyed product in a continuous processing process of a product (for example, see Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent No. 4542900 JP 2010-35701 A JP 2009-216489 A

As shown in Patent Document 2, when a concave portion for accumulation having two types of depth is used, a deep concave portion forming a middle-high portion tends to have a short fiber thickness. On the other hand, in the method of ensuring the thickness by depositing excess fiber material, there is a limit to the amount of excess fiber accumulation, so when trying to arbitrarily increase the difference in the basis weight of fibers between the middle and high parts and the peripheral part The production limit will come out.
For this, an efficient stacking method is desired in which excessive stacking is suppressed as much as possible, and scraping on a rotating drum while simultaneously restacking in an insufficiently thick portion. However, since scraping is continuously performed in a high-speed production line, if the scraping amount is too much larger than the restacked fiber necessary amount in the insufficient thickness portion, the scraped fiber material is accumulated. Moreover, if the scraping amount becomes too large, the suction opening of the rotating drum may be clogged.
It is difficult to balance the scraping amount and the necessary amount of re-stacked fibers by human operation alone in a high-speed production line. The conventional inspection technique does not target the scraping amount of the fiber material, and does not appropriately determine an abnormality regarding the scraping amount that constantly changes in the high-speed production line.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides an inspection apparatus and an inspection method capable of detecting the scraping amount of the fiber material with high accuracy in the fiber material stacking process in the manufacture of the absorbent body, and manufacture of the absorbent body using the inspection method. Regarding the method. The present invention also relates to an inspection apparatus and an inspection method that can detect the scraping amount of the fiber material with a space-saving system without using a large apparatus, and an absorbent body manufacturing method using the inspection method.

  The present invention is a scraping amount inspection device used when scraping excess fiber produced by stacking fiber material on the outer peripheral surface of a rotating drum in an absorbent body manufacturing apparatus, For the hood section that is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the hood and that divides the region so as to perform the scraping and restacking of the excess pile in the same space, the piled excess is scraped off. A detection unit configured to detect an amount of the floating fiber material before being fibered, wherein the detection unit is separated from the scraping position in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum and is scraped in the rotating direction of the rotating drum; The absorber manufacturing apparatus is operated when it is determined that the amount of floating of the fiber material is more than a certain amount based on the detection value of the detection unit. Send a stop signal or detect the detection unit It provides a test device comprising a control unit for transmitting a signal to increase or decrease the suction pressure to the inside from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum in accordance with the floating amount of the fiber material is determined based on.

  Further, the present invention is an inspection method of a scraping amount, which is used when scraping excess fiber in a process of transporting the resulting stacked fiber body while stacking the fiber material constituting the absorbent body, With respect to the area where scraping and restacking of the excess fiber are carried out in the same space, the amount of floating fiber material before scraping the excess fiber and before being restacked is determined as the area. The step of detecting at the transport side away from the scraping position in the transport direction of the pile and the fiber material floating amount based on the value obtained by the detection Or the rotation according to the floating amount of the fiber material determined based on the value obtained by the detection, or a signal to stop the operation of the absorbent manufacturing apparatus is transmitted when it is determined that is more than a certain amount Signal to increase or decrease the suction pressure to the inside of the drum It provides a test method and a control step of transmitting.

  Further, the present invention provides a method for carrying out the above-described excess fiber accumulation, when conveying the resulting fiber stack, scraping off the excess fiber pile, and re-stacking the fiber material constituting the absorbent body. For the area where restacking fiber is performed in the same space, the amount of floating fiber material after scraping the excess fiber and before restacking is separated from the scraping position in the area. And it is determined that the floating amount of the fiber material is a certain amount or more based on the step of detecting on the conveying side from the scraping position in the conveying direction of the pile and the value obtained by the detection. In this case, a signal for stopping the operation of the absorber manufacturing apparatus is transmitted, or the suction pressure to the inside of the rotating drum is increased or decreased according to the floating amount of the fiber material determined based on the value obtained by the detection. Of an absorbent body having a control process for transmitting signals To provide a method.

  According to the inspection apparatus and the inspection method of the present invention and the absorbent body manufacturing method using the inspection method, the scraping amount of the fiber material can be detected with high accuracy in the fiber material stacking process in the manufacture of the absorbent body. Can do. Further, the scraping amount of the fiber material can be detected by a space saving system without using a large apparatus.

It is the perspective view which showed the outline of the manufacturing apparatus of the absorber used for the test | inspection apparatus and test | inspection method of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the II-II line cross section of the rotating drum shown in FIG. (A) is sectional drawing of the rotating drum shown in FIG. 1, the end part of a duct, and a scuffing roll, (B) is the upper area | region of (A), and the excess fiber pile part and the short fiber pile part are formed. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing a state. (A) is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the hood portion shown in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, and (B) is a state in which scraping and restacking are performed in the hood portion on the outer peripheral surface of the upper region of the rotating drum. It is explanatory drawing which showed. It is a lineblock diagram showing one desirable embodiment of an inspection device of the present invention. (A) is a figure which shows three arrangement positions with respect to the food | hood part of a detection part, (B) is a graph which shows the voltage value detected by three arrangement positions of (A). It is a flowchart which shows preferable one Embodiment of the test | inspection method of this invention.

  A preferred embodiment of an absorbent body manufacturing apparatus used in the inspection apparatus and inspection method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, in order to understand the arrangement of the members that overlap with the duct 2 (particularly the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotating drum 1), the duct 1 is shown as a transparent member and shown as a solid line so that it can be seen through the inner member. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, an absorbent body manufacturing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment includes a rotating drum 1 formed so that an accumulation concave portion 12 (deposition portion) is continuous with an outer peripheral surface 11. Further, the manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a duct 2 that supplies the fiber material in a scattered state toward the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotary drum 1, a fiber material supply unit 3 that supplies the fiber material to the duct 2, and an over-stacked fiber material. The scuffing roll 4 is scraped off.

The fiber material supply unit 3 includes a defibrator 31 and nip rollers 34 and 34. Here, the raw material supply nip rollers 34 and 34 are driven by a drive motor (not shown) to introduce a sheet-like raw material 33 such as a pulp sheet into the defibrating machine 31, and the defibrated fiber material is ducted. 2 to supply. The duct 2 supplies the fiber material defibrated by the fiber material supply unit 3 to the rotating drum 1 in a scattered state. The duct 2 may be provided with a feeder (not shown) for supplying a water-absorbing polymer, a deodorant, an antibacterial agent and the like.
The end portion of the duct 2 is disposed so as to cover a part of the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotary drum 1. In this embodiment, the part corresponding to the space part B mentioned later among the outer peripheral surfaces 11 is covered. Of the end portion of the duct 2, a portion corresponding to the upper portion of the space B is referred to as a duct upper end portion 21. A scuffing roll 4 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotary drum 1 inside the duct upper end portion 21. The installation position of the scuffing roll 4 (contact position with the stacked fiber material) is the scraping position of the fiber material.

  Each accumulation recess 12 of the rotary drum 1 has a deep recess 12A that forms a middle-high portion and a shallow recess 12B that forms both peripheral low-tsubo portions. Moreover, the some support | pillar 13 is distribute | arranged to each recessed part 12A and 12B, and the support | pillar 13 forms a groove | channel in a molded object. As shown in the partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, the bottom surface portion 14 of each accumulation recess 12 includes a mesh plate 15 and has a large number of pores 16. The mesh plate 15 is disposed at a position where the shallow recess 12B is closer to the outer peripheral surface 11 than the deep recess 12A. Note that the above-described recesses for accumulation 12 are not limited to the continuous arrangement of the present embodiment, and are divided into a plurality of lengths for each stacked fiber and formed at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface 11. May be.

  The rotating drum 1 has a cylindrical shape and rotates at a constant speed in the F1 direction. In accordance with this, the accumulation concave portion 12 of the outer peripheral surface 11 rotates in the F1 direction. An intake fan (not shown) is connected to a non-rotating portion on the inner side (rotating shaft side) of the rotating drum 1, and the spaces B and C partitioned by the rotating drum 1 are negatively driven by driving the intake fan. The pressure is maintained (see FIG. 3A). The space B corresponds to a side region 101 (also referred to as a first stacking region 101) and an upper region 102 (also referred to as a second stacking region 102) covered with the duct 2 in the rotation region of the rotary drum 1. To do. The space C corresponds to a side region 103 (also referred to as a stacked fiber holding region 103) on the opposite side of the rotating region of the rotating drum 1 that the duct 2 does not reach.

When the accumulation recess 12 on the outer peripheral surface 11 reaches the space B due to the rotation of the rotating drum 1, the space B generates a strong suction force on the bottom surface portion 14 of the accumulation recess 12. By this suction force, an air flow for conveying the fiber material is generated in the duct 2 and the fiber material is stacked in the accumulation recess 12. That is, when the stacking recess 12 moves in the direction F1 in the space B, the fiber material begins to be piled up in the side region 101 of the rotation region, and when reaching the upper region 102, the entire recess is filled with the fiber material. The stacked fiber body 201 is obtained. In the stacked fiber body 201, there are an excessively stacked fiber portion 201A exceeding the outermost surface position 11A of the outer peripheral surface 11 and an insufficiently stacked fiber portion 201B that does not reach the outermost surface position 11A (see FIG. 3B). Although not uniform, the excessively stacked fiber portion 201 </ b> A is likely to be formed in the shallow recessed portion 12 </ b> B of the accumulation recess 12, and the insufficiently stacked fiber portion 201 </ b> B is likely to be formed in the deep recess 12 </ b> A of the accumulation recess 12.
The excess fiber portion 201A is scraped off by the scuffing roll 4 in the upper region 102, and is restacked into the insufficient fiber portion 201B. Thereby, the excess and deficiency of the stacked fibers is eliminated, and the stacked body 202 having the flat outer surface 11 side is obtained. This scraping and restacking will be described later.

The fiber stack 202 is conveyed to the lower region 104 (also referred to as a fiber transfer region 104) in the rotation region of the rotary drum 1 while being held in the accumulation recess 12 by the negative pressure in the space C.
The lower region 104 is a region facing the cover sheet 91 conveyed by the conveyance belt 9 and coincides with the position of the space D inside the rotary drum 1. The space D is maintained at a positive pressure by pressure means (not shown). Due to the positive pressure, the piled body 202 of the accumulation concave portion 12 passing through the spaces B and C and reaching the space D by the rotation of the rotary drum 1 is transferred to the covering sheet 91. Note that the transfer belt 9 may be further provided with a suction device (not shown) to further improve the transferability.
The transferred fiber stack 202 has, for example, a central middle-high portion 203 and a peripheral flat portion 204 arranged on one side (the surface located inside the drum when held in the collecting recess 12). It becomes. The opposite surface (the surface located on the outer peripheral surface side when held in the accumulation recess 12) is a flat surface in which the excess fiber portion 201A and the insufficient fiber portion 201B are eliminated by the scraping and restacking. Surface.
The fiber stack 202 is divided into a predetermined length and becomes a fiber molded body (absorbent core) for the absorber. The fiber molded body becomes an absorbent and is incorporated into an absorbent article such as a disposable diaper or a sanitary napkin. The middle-high part 203 is disposed opposite to the wearer's liquid excretion part or rupture when the absorbent article is used.

The manufacturing apparatus 10 has a hood part 5. The hood part 5 divides a region on the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotating drum 1 so that the excess fiber scraping and restacking are performed in the same space. Therefore, the hood part 5 is disposed at a position where the piled body in the state where excess or shortage of the piled fiber has occurred on the outer surface side in the concave portion 12 for accumulation passes. In this embodiment, the hood part 5 is arrange | positioned in the upper area | region 102 through which the pile fiber body 201 which has the pile excess fiber part 201A and the fiber shortage part 201B passes (refer FIG. 4 (A) and (B)). . At this position, the aforementioned scuffing roll 4 is disposed in the hood portion 5.
The hood portion 5 defines a region of a predetermined length along the rotation direction of the rotary drum, and has an upper end portion 51 and a lower end portion 52 in the rotation direction (conveying direction of the fiber stack 201). The upper end 51 is a part on the conveyance source side of the fiber stack 201 in the rotation direction of F1 of the rotary drum 1, and is an inlet (load-in) where the concave portion 12 for accumulation having the fiber stack 201 is carried into the hood section 5. Mouth 51G). That is, the upper end portion 51 has a partial gap between the upper end portion 51 and the outer peripheral surface 11 so that the stacked body 201 can be carried into the hood portion 5. On the other hand, the lower end portion 52 is a portion on the transport destination side of the piled body 201 in the rotation direction of F1 of the rotary drum 1, and an outlet ( It has a carry-out port 52G). That is, the lower end 52 has a gap between the outer peripheral surface 11 and the stacked body 201 so that it can be carried out of the hood 5.

  In the present embodiment, such a hood portion 5 is configured by a part of the duct upper end portion 21 of the duct 2 that covers a part of the upper region 102 and the partition plate 53. That is, the internal space 55 defined by the hood portion 5 is a small space in the internal space 25 of the duct 2.

  The length N1 of the hood portion 5 in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum is equal to or longer than the length of one of the fiber molded bodies for the absorbent body in the stacked fiber body 201. Is preferable from the viewpoint of efficiently performing. Specifically, the length N1 is 285 mm or more when viewed as a length connecting the rising proximal end portions 51a and 52a contacting the outer peripheral surface 11 of the upper end portion 51 and the lower end portion 52 of the hood portion 5. It is preferable that it is 300 mm or more. Thereby, it can be set as the area | region which can perform a restacking fiber reliably, and can be set as the area | region which can grasp | ascertain correctly the staying state of the fiber material 32 which floats in this whole area | region by the detection by the below-mentioned detection part. When the partition plate 53 that forms the upper end 51 is not in contact with the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotary drum 1 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the partition plate 53 is extended to be connected to the outer peripheral surface 11. The contacted portion is referred to as a rising base end portion 51a.

  Further, the height H1 of the hood portion 5 is 90 mm or more when viewed as the height of the normal to the outer peripheral surface 11 at the center position in the circumferential direction between the upper hand end 51 and the lower hand end 52. preferable. The central position is determined on the basis of the length connecting the base end portions 51a and 52a.

  The scuffing roll 4 rotates in the F2 direction in this embodiment. This is the same direction of rotation as the rotating drum 1. Thereby, the scuffing roll 4 raises the scraped fiber material 32 toward the upper end portion 51 in the hood portion 5. That is, the excess pile portion 201A is scraped off on the lower end 52 side of the hood portion 5, and is restacked by the suction pressure of the rotary drum 1 to the pile short portion 201B on the conveyance source side and the like. Is resolved. At this time, the excessively stacked fiber 201A on the conveying source side may be restacked, but the excessively stacked fiber is resolved again at the position of the scuffing roll 4.

  The scuffing roll 4 is operated at a speed at which the excessively stacked portion of the stacked fiber conveyed at high speed by the rotation of the rotating drum 1 can be scraped off in a timely manner. Specifically, the rotational speed of the scuffing roll 4 is equal to or higher than the rotational speed of the rotary drum 1, and the scraping is performed substantially continuously. That is, in accordance with the high speed rotation of the rotary drum 1, the scraped fiber material 32 continuously rises into the hood portion 5, and the floating amount of the fiber material 32 in the hood at a high speed such as in milliseconds. Increases or decreases. Since the change amount of the increase / decrease is large, it is difficult to detect with a conventional inspection apparatus.

  On the other hand, in order to ensure the stability of production, the fiber material 32 scraped in the hood part 5 is quickly restacked so that the floating amount in the hood part 5 does not increase too much. Necessary. Therefore, it is preferable that the suction pressure in the space B of the rotary drum 1 is sufficiently strong.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the inspection apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the inspection device 20 includes a detection unit 6 and a control unit 7 that inspect the scraping amount with respect to the hood unit 5 having the scuffing roll 4 therein.

  The detection unit 6 has a function of detecting the amount of the floating fiber material 32 in the hood unit 5 after scraping off the excessively stacked portion and before being restacked. The detection unit 6 includes a device that detects the floating state (retention state) of the fiber material 32 in the hood unit 5 in the width direction (X direction). The apparatus is not particularly limited, and a transmissive laser sensor, a reflective laser sensor, a transmissive photoelectric tube sensor (infrared ray, visible light), a reflective photoelectric tube sensor, or the like can be used. In particular, the transmission type laser sensor is preferable from the viewpoint of accurately capturing the continuous change in the floating amount of the fiber material 32 in the hood portion 5. Among these, a linear laser sensor that can detect a predetermined range is more preferable. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, it demonstrates as the detection part 6 using a linear transmissive | pervious laser sensor.

  The detection unit 6 of the present embodiment is configured such that an oscillating unit 61 and a light receiving unit 62 using a linear transmission type laser sensor are arranged in a non-contact manner on both sides in the width direction (X direction) of the hood unit 5. The oscillating unit 61 can irradiate the light receiving unit 62 with irradiation light using laser light as a light source along the width direction (X direction). The light receiving unit 62 can measure the amount of light received as a result of the laser light emitted from the oscillating unit 61 passing through the hood unit 5 in the width direction. The oscillating unit 61 and the light receiving unit 62 are arranged with the length direction of the linear laser directed in the height direction of the hood unit 5 (normal direction with respect to the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotating drum).

  In the light receiving unit 62, the obtained amount of received light is photoelectrically converted into a voltage. The decreasing tendency of the voltage means a decrease in the amount of transmitted light reaching the light receiving unit 62 and an increase in the amount of light blocked by the floating fiber material 32. That is, it means that the floating amount of the fiber material 32 is increased in the hood part 5. This voltage value is transmitted to the control unit described later in time series, and the control unit performs normal / abnormal determination processing based on the voltage value.

The hood portion 5 is made of a material that can transmit the laser beam as much as possible so that the laser beam can be properly transmitted through the hood portion 5 and the light receiving portion 62 can receive the amount of light received in accordance with the state inside the hood portion 5. Is preferred.
Furthermore, it is more preferable that the slit holes 54A and 54B are arranged on the wall surface of the hood portion 5 at the laser transmission position of the transmission type laser sensor. The slit hole 54 </ b> A is at a position where the laser beam emitted from the oscillating unit 61 is irradiated, and the slit hole 54 </ b> B is at a position where the laser beam transmitted through the hood unit 5 passes to the light receiving unit 62. The slit hole 54A and the slit hole 54B are at positions facing each other. This prevents the laser light from being attenuated by the fiber material 32 adhering to the inner wall surface of the hood portion 5 when attempting to transmit the laser beam through the hood portion 5 in the width direction (X direction). The amount of received light can appropriately reflect the internal state. When there is a slit, the material of the hood is not selected because it does not hinder laser transmission.
For the same reason, it is more preferable that air is blown on the irradiation surface of the oscillating unit 61 and the light receiving surface of the light receiving unit 62 so that foreign matter (for example, the fiber material 32) does not adhere.

  The detector 6 is arranged away from the scuffing roll 4 that is a scraping position in the circumferential direction of the rotary drum 1. The detection unit 6 is disposed closer to the conveyance source than the scuffing roll 4 in the rotation direction F1 of the rotary drum 1. This conveyance source side is the upper end 51 side in the direction in which the fiber material 32 is swollen up by the scuffing roll 4, that is, the region on the carry-in entrance 51 </ b> G side of the stack 201, and the fiber material 32 tends to accumulate due to continuous scraping. It is an area. By having the detection unit 6 at this position, the detection accuracy of the floating amount (retention amount) of the fiber material 32 before restacking is increased.

  Further, from the viewpoint of further improving the detection accuracy, the detection unit 6 is disposed closer to the upper end 51 than the intermediate position between the scuffing roll 4 and the upper end 51 as the scraping position. Is more preferable. This intermediate position is an intermediate position in the circumferential direction of the region where the fiber material 32 soars. More specifically, it is the intermediate position M1 when the end portions T1 and T2 on the conveyance source side in the rotation direction F1 of the scuffing roll 4 and the upper end portion 51 are connected concentrically with the circumference of the rotating drum 1. (See FIG. 6A).

Since the detection unit 6 is closer to the upper end 51 than the intermediate position M1, the overflowing state of the floating fiber material 32 can be detected more accurately. For example, this will be described with reference to the specific examples shown in FIGS. In each of the three arrangement positions as shown in FIG. 6 (A), when the restacked fiber is normal and abnormal due to floating (overflow) (specifically, the suction pressure is low and the scraping amount is large). The voltage change obtained by the light receiving unit 62 is compared. (1) is a position near the scuffing roll 4, (2) is a position farther than the scuffing roll (closer to the upper end 51 than the intermediate position M1), and (3) is a position directly above the scuffing roll 4.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, the voltage difference Δ at the distant position of (2) is 2.5 V, the voltage difference Δ at the position near (1) is 1.5 V, and (3) The voltage difference Δ at the position directly above was 0.3V. In other words, the voltage difference at the far position in (2) is the largest in the same hood part 5 and the abnormality in the hood part 5 is most clearly shown, which contributes to high accuracy and early determination. This is because the fiber material 32 is most likely to spread over a wide range in the space in the hood portion 5 at the position (2), and thus the sensor detection range is sufficiently utilized. That is, the position (2) (the position closer to the upper end 51 than the intermediate position M1) is easy to sense and the overflow threshold value is easy to be pulled. The threshold value can be arbitrarily set as a voltage value corresponding to the floating amount of the fiber material 32 that affects the product performance and productivity due to the increase in the density of the fiber material 32 in the hood portion 5. For example, when the floating amount is large, the suction pressure becomes low and the basis weight of the absorbent body becomes small. If the floating amount further increases, the mesh plate is damaged, so the threshold value is set to a lower value.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the detection unit 6 is disposed closer to the upper end 51 than the intermediate position M1 so that at least the state of the upper portion of the hood unit 5 can be detected. Further, it is more preferable that the laser light emitted from the detection unit 6 be in a range that covers the height H1 from the upper part of the hood unit 5 to the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotary drum 1 as much as possible. The cover range of the laser beam with respect to the height H1 of the hood part 5 is preferably 10% or more, and more preferably 30% or more.

A controller 7 is connected to the detector 6. The control unit 7 transmits a signal to stop the operation of the absorbent body manufacturing apparatus 10 when the floating amount of the fiber material 32 is determined to be a constant amount based on the detection value of the detection unit 6, or the detection unit 6 It has a function of transmitting a signal for increasing or decreasing the suction pressure to the inside of the rotary drum 1 in accordance with the floating amount of the fiber material 32 determined based on the detected value.
More specifically, the control unit 7
(1) Sensor control of sensor 6 (sensor output control),
(2) A voltage value group transmitted from time to time (for example, in milliseconds) from the light receiving unit 62 of the detection unit 6 is received and predetermined calculation processing (including setting of conditions in the calculation processing)
(3) Abnormal / normal determination based on the calculation processing result,
(4) warning signal output based on the determination (abnormality determination),
(5) Output signal of increase / decrease of suction pressure (suction air volume) of the rotating drum 1 based on the determination (abnormality determination),
(6) It has a function of performing machine control based on the signal of (4) or (5).
Such a control unit 7 may include the functions (1) to (6) in one device, or may be divided into a plurality of devices for each function so as to cooperate with each other. As the control unit 7, a programmable logic controller (PLC) or a commercially available personal computer with various interfaces added can be used. In the present embodiment, the sensor controller 71 having the functions (1) to (3), the sensor control PLC 72 having the functions (4) and (5), and the function (6) are provided. The control part 7 is demonstrated below as what consists of the structure of the machine control PLC73.

In the present embodiment, the sensor controller 71 constituting the control unit 7 is connected to each of the oscillation unit 61 and the light receiving unit 62 of the detection unit 6. The sensor controller 71 controls the output of the sensor with respect to the oscillator 61 as the function (1).
The sensor controller 71 receives a voltage value group transmitted from the light receiving unit 62 as needed in time series (for example, in milliseconds) as the function (2), and based on the voltage value group, for example, Calculation of moving average (simple moving average) is performed along the time axis. In the calculation of the moving average, the average number is set arbitrarily. The obtained moving average value is a material for accurately grasping the state (the tendency of increase or decrease in floating amount) in the hood part 5 that cannot be determined from the instantaneous voltage value (instantaneous value of floating amount) having a large variation. .

  And the sensor controller 71 determines abnormality / normality in the food | hood part 5 based on the said calculated value as a function of said (3). An example of the determination criterion is the above-described threshold value. That is, when the moving average value of the voltage value is equal to or less than a set threshold value, the hood portion 5 is overflowed with the fiber material 32 and is determined as a limit state in which the rotating drum 1 may be damaged, that is, an abnormal state. In this case, the sensor controller 71 transmits an abnormality determination signal or an abnormally determined sensor value. The threshold value can be arbitrarily set as a voltage value corresponding to the floating amount of the fiber material having the mechanical limit as described above.

  The sensor control PLC 72 is connected to the sensor controller 71 and receives an abnormality determination signal or an abnormally determined sensor value from the sensor controller 71. Based on the received abnormality determination signal or the abnormally determined sensor value, the sensor control PLC 72 outputs the warning signal (4) or increases / decreases the suction pressure (suction air volume) of the rotating drum 1 (5). Or output a signal. Each output signal is transmitted to the machine control PLC 73. The increase / decrease signal of the suction pressure (suction air volume) of the rotating drum 1 is a signal corresponding to the increase / decrease value of the suction air volume required for the received sensor value determined to be abnormal.

The machine control PLC 73 is connected to the sensor control PLC 72 and is connected to one of the components in the absorber manufacturing apparatus 10, and controls the component as the function (6).
For example, the machine control PLC 73 can be connected to the drive power supply unit of the entire manufacturing apparatus 10 and control to turn off the drive power supply unit can be performed based on the warning signal (4). Alternatively, the sensor control PLC 72 may issue a warning sign (warning display, warning sound) to manually stop the manufacturing apparatus 10.

Further, for example, the machine control PLC 73 is connected to the drive unit of the intake fan inside the rotary drum 1 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, and the inverter frequency (Hz) is increased or decreased with respect to the drive unit based on the signal of (5). Control is performed. Thereby, adjustment of the basic weight by the restacking fiber with respect to the stacked fiber body 201 is attained. That is, it is possible to obtain a fiber molded body for an absorbent body having a desired basis weight, and stable re-stacking is possible.
Specifically, by increasing the inverter frequency (Hz), the air volume by the intake fan is increased, and the suction pressure in the space B is increased. Thereby, the re-stacking of the fiber material 32 which floats is accelerated | stimulated, the basic weight of the stacked fiber body 201 is raised, and a shortage of stacking fibers is eliminated. Moreover, the accumulation of the fiber material 32 in the hood part 5 is also eliminated, and the scraping and re-stacking fiber circulation is performed well. On the other hand, when the inverter frequency (Hz) is lowered, the air volume by the intake fan is reduced, and the suction pressure in the space B is lowered. Thereby, restacking fiber is relieved and it is avoided that the basic weight of the stacked fiber body 201 becomes excessive.

  With the inspection device 10 having such a function, the scraping amount of the fiber material can be detected with high accuracy in the fiber material stacking process in the manufacture of the absorbent body. The inspection device 20 includes a detection unit 6 and a control unit 7 connected to the detection unit 6, and does not require a large device. Further, the detection unit 6 and the control unit 7 are arranged on the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotating drum 1 on both sides of the hood unit 5 in a non-contact manner, so that there is no need for a significant change in equipment, and the space-saving system can The scraping amount can be detected. For example, when performing the same inspection with an image processing system using a conventional camera, it is necessary to secure an optical distance and to install an illumination device. Therefore, such an inspection apparatus requires several times more space than the inspection apparatus of the present invention.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the inspection method of the present invention will be described as an embodiment using the inspection apparatus 20 of FIG. 5 with reference to FIG.
First, an average number of times and a threshold value are input to the sensor controller 71 in advance. In the present embodiment, two types of threshold A and threshold B are set. The threshold value A is used at the time of determination in step S4 described later, and the threshold value B is used at the time of determination in step S7 described later. The threshold value B is smaller than the threshold value A (threshold value A> threshold value B). Next, along with the start of operation of the absorber manufacturing apparatus 10, the sensor control PLC 72 turns on the sensor amplifier and operates the inspection apparatus 20 (step S1).

After operation, as a first inspection step, excessive fiber accumulation is performed with respect to a region (internal space 55 of the hood part 5) where scraping and restacking of excess fiber 201A of the stacked fiber body 201 are performed in the same space. After scraping off the minute 201A, the amount of floating fiber material before restacking is detected (step S2). The detection is performed at the arrangement position of the detection unit 6 described above. That is, it is separated from the scraping position in the region, and on the transport side in the transport direction of the fiber stack 201 with respect to the scraping position. Specifically, the detection unit 6 closer to the transport side than the scuffing roll 4 irradiates the laser beam emitted from the oscillation unit 61 in the width direction (X direction), and the light receiving unit 62 receives the transmitted laser beam. The amount of received light is measured (see FIG. 5). The light receiving unit 62 photoelectrically changes the received light amount to obtain a voltage value, and transmits it to the sensor controller 71 in time series. As described above, the decrease in the voltage value means a decrease in the amount of transmitted light reaching the light receiving unit 62, and an increase in the amount of light blocked by the floating fiber material 32. That is, it means that the floating amount of the fiber material 32 is increased in the hood part 5.
Note that, as described above, the detection unit 6 of the present embodiment is configured so that the oscillation unit 61 and the light receiving unit 62 using a linear transmission type laser sensor are separated in the width direction (X direction) of the hood unit 5 that divides the region. They are arranged opposite to each other in a non-contact manner (see FIG. 5). The oscillation unit 61 and the reception unit 62 are arranged such that the length direction of the linear laser is oriented in the height direction of the hood unit 5 (normal direction to the outer peripheral surface 11 of the rotating drum). However, the inspection method of the present invention is not limited to the apparatus of the present embodiment, and an apparatus that can appropriately grasp the increase / decrease in the floating amount of the fiber material 32 at the detection position in the region can be appropriately employed.
The sensor controller 71 performs the above-described moving average calculation process with the set average number of times based on the voltage value transmitted in time series as needed (step S3).

  Next, as a second inspection step, the sensor controller 71 determines whether or not the floating amount of the fiber material is a constant amount based on the value obtained by the detection. In the present embodiment, the sensor controller 71 determines whether or not the calculated moving average value is larger than the set threshold value A (step S4). In this case, the sensor controller 71 transmits an abnormality determination signal when the moving average value obtained by the arithmetic processing is equal to or less than the set threshold value A. The sensor control PLC 72 receives the abnormality determination signal and outputs a signal based on the signal (step S4). This signal is, for example, the warning signal (4) or the increase / decrease signal of the suction pressure (suction air volume) of the rotating drum 1 (5). Although not shown in FIG. 7, when the warning signal (4) is output, for example, the machine control PLC 73 receives the warning signal, turns off the drive power supply unit of the entire manufacturing apparatus 10, and the inspection ends. Alternatively, the sensor control PLC 72 issues a warning sign (warning display, warning sound) based on the warning signal to manually stop the manufacturing apparatus 10, and the inspection ends. On the other hand, when the moving average value exceeds the threshold A, the process returns to step S2 again and the next first inspection process and second inspection process are repeated.

On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows steps S5 to S9 when the sensor control PLC 72 outputs the increase / decrease signal of the suction pressure (suction air volume) of the rotating drum 1 of (5). In this case, first, in the second inspection step, the sensor controller 71 transmits a sensor value determined to be abnormal together with a signal for determining abnormality. The sensor control PLC 72 receives the abnormality determination signal and the abnormally determined sensor value, and based on the sensor value, the suction air volume that increases the suction pressure into the rotary drum according to the floating amount of the fiber material Is transmitted (step S5). For example, as described above, this increase signal is a signal corresponding to an increase value of the suction air amount necessary for the sensor value determined to be abnormal.
Next, the machine control PLC 73 increases the inverter frequency (Hz) for the drive unit of the intake fan inside the rotary drum 1 based on the increase signal. That is, the suction air volume is increased according to the increase signal (step S6). The signal output from the sensor control PLC 72 is not limited to an increase signal, and may be a decrease signal as necessary. In the case of a decrease signal, the machine control PLC 73 decreases the inverter frequency (Hz) in response to this, and reduces the suction air volume.

Next, although not shown in the figure, the same inspection as the first inspection step and the second inspection step described above is performed for the state in which the suction air volume is increased, and the determination in step S7 is performed. In the determination in step S7, the threshold value B lower than the threshold value A is used instead of the threshold value A used in step S4. The reason why the threshold value B lower than the threshold value A is used is to inspect the occurrence of abnormality after the suction air volume control. In step S7, if the sensor controller 71 determines that the moving average value obtained at this stage exceeds the threshold B, the abnormality determination signal and the moving average value determined to be abnormal are not transmitted, and the suction air volume is fixed as it is. (Step S8), the next steps S2 to S4 are executed. That is, when the suction air volume is increased and the measured value is stable, it is regarded as normal and the absorbent body manufacturing apparatus 10 is operated as it is.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S7 that the moving average value is equal to or less than the threshold value B, the machine of the absorbent body manufacturing apparatus 10 is stopped (step S9) as follows. That is, the sensor controller 71 compares the moving average value obtained by the calculation process with the set threshold value B, and transmits an abnormality determination signal when the moving average value is equal to or less than the threshold value. The sensor control PLC 72 receives the abnormality determination signal and outputs a warning signal based on the abnormality determination signal. This warning signal is received by, for example, the machine control PLC 73 connected to the sensor control PLC 72, the drive power supply unit of the entire manufacturing apparatus 10 is turned off, and the inspection ends. Alternatively, the sensor control PLC 72 issues a warning sign (warning display, warning sound) based on the warning signal to manually stop the manufacturing apparatus 10, and the inspection ends. That is, even if the suction air volume is increased, if the measured value is further reduced and falls below the threshold value B, it is considered that the processing state is abnormal, and the absorbent body manufacturing apparatus 10 is stopped.

  By such an inspection method, the scraping amount of the fiber material can be detected with high accuracy in the fiber material stacking process in the manufacture of the absorbent body. Further, when the inspection method is performed by the inspection device 20, as described above, the scraping amount of the fiber material can be detected by a space saving system without using a large device.

  Further, in the manufacturing method of the absorbent body using the inspection method of the present invention, abnormalities in the scraping and restacking processing steps can be quickly and accurately caught, so that the suction port of the rotating drum can be prevented from being clogged in advance. The fiber molded body for the absorber can be produced efficiently. Thus, the obtained fiber molded object for absorbers is covered with a coating sheet on both surfaces, becomes an absorber, and is incorporated in various absorbent articles. In addition, a coating sheet is not restricted to the case where both surfaces are coated, and can also be used as an absorbent body for absorbent articles without coating one surface or without coating both surfaces. Moreover, in said embodiment, although shown as what obtains the fiber molded object which has one middle-high part in a part of single side | surface, it is not limited to this. If the inspection apparatus and the inspection method of the present invention are carried out for the manufacturing process in which the excess fiber portion 201A and the insufficient fiber portion 201B are eliminated by scraping and restacking, the fiber forming to be manufactured The body may be various, such as one having a plurality of middle and high parts, one having no middle and high parts, and a thin absorbent body.

  As a fiber material used for the manufacturing method of an absorber, the various things conventionally used for the absorber of absorbent articles, such as a sanitary napkin, a panty liner, and a disposable diaper, can be especially used without a restriction | limiting. For example, short fibers of cellulosic fibers such as pulp fibers, rayon fibers, and cotton fibers, and short fibers of synthetic fibers such as polyethylene are used. These fibers can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Moreover, it is preferable that the fiber material is entirely or partly pulp fiber, and the ratio of the pulp fiber in the fiber material is preferably 50 to 100% by mass, more preferably 80 to 100% by mass, More preferably, it is 100 mass%. In addition to the fiber material, an absorbent polymer may be supplied into the duct, and a deodorant, an antibacterial agent, and the like may be supplied as necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating drum 11 Outer peripheral surface 12 Concave part 2 Accumulation Duct 3 Fiber material supply part 4 Scuffing roll 5 Hood part 51 Upper end part (carry-in part)
52 Lower edge (unloading part)
54A, 54B Slit hole 6 Detector 61 Oscillator 62 Light receiver 7 Controller 71 Sensor controller 72 Sensor control PLC
73 Machine control PLC
10 Absorber Manufacturing Equipment 20 Inspection Equipment

Claims (11)

A scraping amount inspection device used when scraping excess fiber produced by stacking fiber material on the outer peripheral surface of a rotating drum in an absorber manufacturing apparatus,
The excess pile was scraped to the hood section that was disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum and divided the area so that the excess pile was scraped off and restacked in the same space. It is equipped with a detection unit that detects the amount of floating fiber material before it is restacked.
The detection unit is spaced apart from the scraping position in the circumferential direction of the rotating drum, and is disposed closer to the conveyance source than the scraping position in the rotating direction of the rotating drum,
Further, when it is determined that the floating amount of the fiber material is a certain amount or more based on the detection value of the detection unit, a signal for stopping the operation of the absorber manufacturing apparatus is transmitted, or the detection value of the detection unit is An inspection apparatus including a control unit that transmits a signal for increasing or decreasing the suction pressure from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum to the inside in accordance with a floating amount of the fiber material determined based on the floating amount.   The hood has an upper end and a lower end in the rotation direction of the rotary drum, and the detection unit is closer to the upper end than an intermediate position between the scraping position and the upper end. The inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the inspection device is arranged. In the manufacturing apparatus of the absorber, a duct that supplies fiber material to the rotating drum in a scattered state is arranged so as to cover a part of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum,
The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area partitioned by the hood portion is a small space arranged in the duct.   The said control part is a test | inspection apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3 which calculates a moving average value from the detected value of the said detection part, and judges the floating amount of the fiber material in the said hood part. Wherein the detection unit includes a transmission type inspection apparatus according to any one of the laser sensor comprising using claims 1-4.   The inspection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the hood portion is provided with a slit hole at a laser transmission position of the transmission type laser sensor. A method for inspecting the scraping amount used when scraping excess fiber in the process of conveying the resulting fiber stack while fiber material constituting the absorbent is being stacked,
With respect to the area where scraping and restacking of the excess fiber are carried out in the same space, the amount of floating fiber material before scraping the excess fiber and before being restacked is determined as the area. A step of detecting at a conveyance source side from the position of the scraping away from the position of the scraping in the conveying direction of the fiber stack,
When it is determined that the floating amount of the fiber material is greater than or equal to a certain amount based on the value obtained by the detection, a signal for stopping the operation of the manufacturing apparatus of the absorbent body is transmitted, or based on the value obtained by the detection And a control step of transmitting a signal for increasing or decreasing the suction pressure to the inside of the rotating drum in accordance with the floating amount of the fiber material determined in this manner.   The region is partitioned by an upper end and a lower end in a fiber material stacking process, and the amount of the floating fiber material is detected between the scraping position and the upper end. The inspection method according to claim 7, wherein the inspection is performed closer to the upper end than the position.   The inspection method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the region is a region in which a part of a fiber material supply region is partitioned.   The method according to claim 7, wherein the determination of the floating amount of the fiber material is performed by calculating a moving average value from a value obtained by the detection.   The manufacturing method of the absorber which uses the inspection method of any one of Claims 7-10.

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